Toronto Audiofest 2026 Show Report Part 1
High-End Audio Highlights, New Gear Debuts, And Must-See Listening Rooms
Top-performing listening rooms, exciting product introductions, prestigious audio gear, and value-packed hi-fi sound systems that captivate music lovers.
Toronto Audiofest 2026 Show Report By Rick Becker

440  Erikson Consumer
Like the Lenbrook room above, and numerous other rooms at the show, Erikson Consumer presented gear at the entry level. This was my first listen to the relatively new KLH 7 speaker, and I have to say at $5000 USD it doesn't represent as good a value as the first two reincarnations of this series, the Model 3 and Model 5. For all the façade it presents, it didn't seem to produce as full a sound as I expected. The 3 and 5, on the other hand, I've heard sounding scary-good for the money. The speaker on the inside is the Model 4 at $2000 USD, which I did not have a chance to hear. BTW, these are acoustic suspension speakers, not ported like most box speakers today.

That was Audiolab gear in the rack with a Dual turntable on top.

The Dual CS7180 looked more sophisticated than I expected from Dual with its adjustable VTA, carbon fiber tonearm, and removable headshell.

444  Hearken Audio
Matt Thomas is a fearless entrepreneur, putting together outstanding rigs with esoteric brands from around the world, year after year. And fortunately, he put together a room list to help me sort it out for you. The good news is that only one item, the 432 EVO Server ($13,000), was over four figures.

The speakers were the Precide A + SAGL ($9k) from Switzerland, a 2-way with an AMT tweeter, and a transmission line ending with a slotted port at the front bottom. Outstanding craftsmanship in an unpretentious chassis.

Below the turntable on the rack was a Frankie Plus integrated amp ($5400) from Serblin and Son with a wood chassis sandwiched between an aluminum top and bottom. It puts out 75 Wpc @ 8 Ohms, and includes DAC, streamer, and phono stage. A gorgeous piece from Italy.

The silver unit below was a Found Sound Davio Azure DAC with a Class A tube output stage with zero negative feedback ($5k). And the black 432 Server was on the bottom shelf behind the LPs. To the left of the rack on the floor was one of the CAD grounding devices.

The turntable was the new Jean Nantais Mighty Mite with a smaller chassis than his original model and a much lower price at $5k. This is essentially a home-brew modded Lenco idler-drive turntable, except John Nantais has been doing this since the 1990s and has achieved world-class status. It was fitted with a Sorane tonearm and an Etsuro Urishi cartridge. The I/K Model 6 on the room list is for one of the record clamps.

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